(a) Except as provided in section three of this article,
subject to the duty to return firearms to innocent owners pursuant
to subsection (b) of this section, all firearms, as defined in
section two, article seven, chapter sixty-one of this code, that
are forfeited or abandoned to any law-enforcement agency of this
state or a political subdivision of this state, including the West
Virginia Division of Natural Resources, or that are otherwise
acquired by the state or a political subdivision of the state and
are no longer needed, shall be transferred to the State Treasurer
for disposal as provided in this section.

(b) Except as provided in section three of this article,
within thirty days of the receipt of an unclaimed stolen property
report, the State Treasurer shall coordinate best efforts with the
reporting law-enforcement agency to transfer the firearms and
ammunition to the State Treasurer for disposal as provided in
subsection (e).

(c) Prior to the disposal of any firearm that has been
forfeited or abandoned to the state, the chief executive of each
law-enforcement agency shall use best efforts to determine if the
firearm has been lost by, stolen or otherwise unlawfully obtained
from an innocent owner, and if so, shall return the firearm to its
innocent owner, if ascertainable, unless that person is ineligible
to receive or possess a firearm under state or federal law.

(d) Upon determination and verification that a lawful owner is
unavailable or ineligible to receive or possess a firearm under
state or federal law, reporting enforcement agencies may trade the firearms and ammunition to persons licensed as firearms collectors,
dealers, importers or manufacturers under the provisions of 18 U.
S. C. §§921 et seq. and authorized to receive firearms under the
terms of their license, in exchange for new weapons or ammunition,
or appropriate the firearms and ammunition for law-enforcement
agency use.

(e) Except as provided in subsections (c),(d) and (f) of this
section, the State Treasurer shall dispose of the firearms that it
receives under subsection (a) by sale at public auction to persons
licensed as firearms collectors, dealers, importers or
manufacturers under the provisions of 18 U. S. C. §§921 et seq. and
authorized to receive firearms under the terms of their license.

(1) The auctions required by this subsection may occur online
on a rolling basis or at live events but in no event may occur less
frequently than once every six months.

(2) The State Treasurer shall retain only the net proceeds
necessary to cover the costs of administering this section, with
any surplus to be transferred to the general fund of the state:
Provided, That an agency may be reimbursed for any decommissioned
firearms formerly in use by the agency that are sold under this
section: Provided, however, That an agency may apply to the State
Treasurer for payment of the net proceeds generated by the sale of
any property by the State Treasurer pursuant to this section.

(3) Employees of the State Police or of the agency from which
the firearms are received are not eligible to bid on the firearms
at an auction conducted under this section.

(f) The requirements of subsection (d) do not apply to a firearm that the chief executive of the law-enforcement agency or
his or her designee certifies is unsafe for use because of wear,
damage, age or modification, and any such firearm shall at the
discretion of the superintendent be transferred to the State Police
forensic laboratory for training or experimental purposes or to a
museum or historical society or be destroyed.

(g) The State Treasurer shall keep records of all firearms
acquired and disposed of under the provisions of this section, as
well as the net proceeds of the sales and the disbursement of such
proceeds, and shall maintain these records for not less than ten
years from the date on which a firearm is disposed of or on which
a disbursement of funds is made, as the case may be.

(h) Any firearm or ammunition subject to forfeiture
proceedings which is ordered returned to any law enforcement agency
for the purposes of public sale or auction may only be sold or
transferred to persons licensed as firearms collectors, dealers,
importers or manufacturers under the provisions of 18 U. S. C.
§§921 et seq.
Note: WV Code updated with legislation passed through the 2015 Regular Session
The WV Code Online is an unofficial copy of the annotated WV Code, provided as a convenience. It has NOT been edited for publication, and is not in any way official or authoritative.